Program Updates

Families Struggling with Economic Slowdown Turn to the Beehive

Everyday, more households stretch their budgets to compensate for increasing food and gas prices and dip deeper into savings or extend more credit for everyday goods and emergency expenses. As of December 2007, the revolving debt had reached a record high of $943.5 billion, according to the Federal Reserve. Mostly from credit card debt, this number continues to increase, almost doubling in 2007 alone.

Households challenged by the economic downturn and those who are experiencing financial crisis are using the Beehive's newest resource, the Financial Coach, to take steps towards financial freedom. This innovative online resource provides information and tools to help families build confidence with budgeting and prevent debt.

Created with support from the Ford Foundation, the Financial Coach features free credit counselling around the clock from licensed National Foundation for Credit Counselling-certified counsellors in both English and Spanish. Users can also discover financial quick fixes they can use right away and use the Better Budgeting tool to get assistance in managing their money. The Financial Coach draws on the experiences of its users; visitors can contribute stories of their own stories and read those of others.

Mos Def Joins the Race for President

This month, One Economy re-launched its civic engagement website, 247Townhall.org with powerful new multimedia tools visitors can use to speak up on the issues they care about most.

247Townhall connects young people across the nation who have a wealth of opinions and ideas to share. One Economy Corporation created 247Townhall with generous support from the Marguerite Casey Foundation, to provide a free tool for expression and action. This site brings together everyday people who want to do good things for their community, forging a network for change.

The new 247Townhall features innovative campaign called “If I Were President," which brings together people from across the nation to say what they would do to lead out country. The campaign is raising awareness, encouraging action, and getting out the vote for the 2008 elections.

Mos Def stars in the pilot episode. Rehab, in partnership with One Economy, will produce episodes to be distributed daily leading up to Election Day. Each episode will be edited into 30-second PSAs for broadcast and 90-second episodes for online distribution.

Visit www.247Townhall.org and cast your vote.

New Orleans Community Fellows Promote Emergency Preparedness

For people living along the Gulf Coast, preparing for summer also means preparing for hurricane season. In partnership with the Allstate Foundation, One Economy has created online tools and on-the-ground support to help New Orleans residents create and implement personal emergency preparedness plans.

The Community Fellows—New Orleans residents with personal experience dealing with emergencies—work on-site in neighborhoods at-risk. Through collaboration with local nonprofit organizations including the Louisiana Association of Nonprofits and ACORN, the Community Fellows aim to serve over 100,000 residents and educate them in emergency preparedness. Their work includes organizing informative public events, holding group education sessions on emergency preparedness, and speaking to community and church groups on steps to take to prepare for emergencies.

"In the Digital Age, every American should have access to vital information, especially in areas as important as emergency preparedness," said One Economy Chief Executive Officer Rey Ramsey. "Now, through our collaboration with the Allstate Foundation, we will be using the power of the Internet to convey that information to residents and help them create personal, comprehensive emergency plans.”

The Community Fellows implement the strategies outlined by One Economy's online emergency preparedness resource. The Beehive's emergency section (www.theBeehive.org/BePrepared), features multimedia tools and information that help families plan for and respond to all kinds of emergencies, from natural disasters to outbreaks of disease.

The Community Fellows and emergency preparedness content are part of One Economy's vision of a 21st-century community in New Orleans. In the coming months, One Economy will partner with the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, a New Orleans-based nonprofit, to bring broadband access into GCHP's new affordable housing developments.

The Beehive Helps Thousands File Taxes for Free

Doubling the number of Beehive users who used the site to file their taxes in 2007, 7,188 taxpayers used the free Tax Tool to prepare and file their income taxes. We expect more than $7 million dollars to be returned directly to low- and moderate-income households with this effort.

The Tax Tool guides users through the often complicated process of understanding and filing their taxes in accessible, easy-to-understand language. Information and resources include free tax preparation and e-filing through H&R Block, educational material on tax credits, and techniques to lessen the frustration of preparing taxes.

In addition to the thousands who prepared and filed their taxes on the Beehive, more than 150,000 low- and moderate-income households accessed financial literacy information, including information on the Earned Income Tax Credit and other important tax credits, the economic stimulus, ideas on spending and saving tax refunds, and other free tax related community based services.

Though the Earned Income Tax Credit returns billions of dollars to low-income working families each year—lifting more than 5 million families out of poverty annually—an estimated 15 to 25 percent of eligible taxpayers fail to claim the credit. One Economy created the Tax Tool to make it easy for working families to understand tax preparation and file for themselves. The Beehive builds financial literacy and helps families maximize their returns, without paid tax preparation.

To learn more about the Tax Tool, visit www.Beehive.org/taxes.

The Beehive Explains Economic Stimulus Payments

With the economic slowdown taking its toll on American households, the government, working through the IRS, will be sending out “stimulus payments” to millions of taxpayers starting in May. In addition to wage earners who file their income taxes reporting a minimum $3,000 income, many seniors receiving Social Security benefits and veterans disability or death benefits are encouraged to file taxes so that they may get a stimulus check. Most individual taxpayers will get between $300 and $600 with phase-outs starting at $75,000 annual income; married couples may qualify for double that amount.

Find more information in the Beehive’s special section dedicated to the stimulus package here. We feature language that encourages saving and spending wisely, links to the IRS stimulus estimator and the Beehive’s free tax preparation tool.

One Economy Helps Low-income People Battle Their Debt Demons

To help our users get the new year off to a great start, One Economy hosted Battling Your Debt Demons (www.thebeehive.org/debtdemons), a week-long feature of original online events and content to help low-income people learn how to manage and reduce their debt—particularly debts from credit cards and paying for college.

From January 7 to 14, One Economy worked across its web properties to feature interactive content on everything from getting a good loan for school to accessing credit counseling. In addition to the Beehive’s Users financial tools, articles, and tips, Debt Demons featured expert answers to a daily question about debt and personal finance.

One Economy also teamed up with youth radio program Radio Rootz to interview personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich, author of Gener@tion Debt: Take Control of Your Money – A How-to Guide, about debt problems affecting low-income communities. The show featured two youth reporters and Beehive finance producer Gina Tirado Strayer, discussing creative solutions to money questions, understanding "smart debt," avoiding credit card debt, building a credit history and filing taxes for free. The show aired on New York City’s WBAI in collaboration with Pacifica Radio and People's Production House, a comprehensive media justice organization. Watch video podcasts of the interview at www.thebeehive.org/money.